Column: Share your memories of Mom

Mother’s Day undoubtedly will be observed THROUGHOUT the upcoming weekend … with the “official” holiday recognized this Sunday, May 12.

by Darrell Richardson

Mother’s Day undoubtedly will be observed THROUGHOUT the upcoming weekend … with the “official” holiday recognized this Sunday, May 12.

As if you could truly and fully appreciate the contribution that mothers make during ONLY one day or even one weekend per year!?!

Despite suffering (and surviving) two major strokes — and several “mini” ones — my mom, Campbell County native Jane Parker Richardson, is 76 years young and more precious to me than ever before. … Even more than when she used to make grilled-cheese sandwiches for me and spray Off! all over me when I would go outside and play with my preschool-aged friends in the mosquito-ridden (at the time at least) coal mining community of Muhlenberg County, Ky.

My dad, Harry G. Richardson, worked for TVA throughout his lifetime, and we lived in Kentucky a little bit before and then throughout my first grade in school.

That was probably a diagonal move at best from Calhoun, Tenn., where we lived prior to moving to the Bluegrass State for a short time. As more, eh, mature East Tennesseans may recall, during the early and mid-1960s — and prior to air-conditioning — Calhoun maintained a unique and distinctive smell due to the malodorous stench (again at the time) from its Bowater paper mill.

Through it all, the paper-mill smells and the mosquito infestation, I never heard my mother complain. Not once. We also moved around quite a bit with TVA during my formative years, but again I never heard any complaint from my mom.

Through the years, I’ve learned a lot from my mother — and to this day I continue to learn from her. Patience, love, sympathy and, yes, even a bit of stubbornness. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Though age and health issues over the past few years have slowed my mother down a bit, she remains a very special person to me and her extended family members and friends. And I remain thankful for every day we get to enjoy each other’s company in this Ol’ World.

What lessons did your Mom teach you? Do you have a particularly fond memory or even funny memory that you’d like to share with your fellow readers of The Oak Ridger? If so, email me your story at: drichardson@oakridger.com with a photo of your Mom — or maybe a picture of you and your Mom together or your Mom with her grandkids or great-grandkids, etc.

And if email isn’t your “thing,” then come by and drop off your story and/or photo at The Oak Ridger’s business offices, which are still located at 785 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

We’re open from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday, and we have an after-hours dropbox slit on the left-hand side of our front door; you can pick up your dropped-off photo(s) from our News Room next week.

Mother’s Day is right around the corner. We want to help you celebrate the mother, grandmother or otherwise special lady in your life who helped raise you or helped raise others.